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“I…I am unsure of what you are talking about,” she said, deciding that it was better to pretend than to admit something she knew could put her in an even more awkward, if not dangerous, position. Again, Lady Florentia scoffed.
“Play dumb if you wish, Miss Percival, though we both know you are far more intelligent and conniving than that,” Lady Florentia hissed at her and Matilda bit down on her lip just a little harder, having to remind herself that this woman was a noblewoman and as such, she could likely cause quite a lot of trouble for her if she was so inclined.
“I also know that you are intelligent enough not to believe that you are the first governess to have taken the Duke’s fancy.”
A hard and painful lump formed in Matilda’s throat at that and she felt her knees beginning to tremble. They threatened to buckle beneath her and she had to straighten her spine in order to stop herself from stumbling over. Desperately she wanted to reach for the nearby mantelpiece to hold herself up, but she was determined not to give the lady the satisfaction of seeing her weakness.
“Please elaborate, Lady Florentia,” she said, hardly able to keep her voice from trembling. “I fear I am not quite so intelligent as you give me credit.”
Though she hated to debase herself in such a way, she was sure that it only made Lady Florentia more confident and as such more likely to spill whatever she had come to do so.
“Did you honestly think that the Duke had been single for this long simply to be alone?” Lady Florentia insisted. The way she paused to laugh as though she was doing it directly into Matilda’s face, made the governess’ feet itch to storm across the room and strike the woman. She was forced to slip her hands into the folds of her dress to stop the lady from seeing that they had balled into fists. “The Duke takes his pleasure in the form of unattached women. Women likeyou.”
Matilda shook her head, dropping her gaze. She tried her hardest to push the woman’s words away, not to let them embed themselves in her mind. Already she had been wondering where the future could possibly lie with the Duke. She did not need this woman to come in here and place even more anxiety in her chest. She lifted her head and opened her mouth to speak but it appeared that Lady Florentia was not yet finished.
“Lady Amy has been quite perfect for you while you have been here, has she not?” Lady Florentia continued, “The Duke told me so himself.”
“What does any of that have to do with what you are trying to impress upon me?” Matilda demanded and she met the woman’s putrid blue gaze with a sudden fury that she could barely contain.
“Well, the girl was quite perfect always,” Lady Florentia responded, looking quite smug as she spoke, “She always has been and she has given the previous governesses no trouble at all. That is just the story that the Duke has told when he grows weary of their company and wishes for something…new.”
The way the woman looked Matilda up and down made her feel sick. It was as if she were a circus exhibit only standing before her for her amusement and she was going to take her time looking at her for as long as she liked.
“I do not believe you,” Matilda said, shaking her head firmly.She is just trying to get under my skin,Matilda told herself firmly before she added, “And even if I did, it matters not for there is nothing going on between myself and the Duke.”
There was silence for several moments and the two women stared at each other, both refusing to back down. It was Lady Florentia who finally broke the quiet. “What exactly is it that you are hoping for, Miss Percival?” she demanded, continuing to glare at Matilda. “Do you somehow believe that Lord Worthington will marry you?”
Matilda opened her mouth to protest that she had never even thought such a thing but she clamped her lips closed the moment she realised that it had been all she had been able to think about for the last few days. Ever since the Duke had returned to announce to her that his courtship with Lady Florentia had been put to an end, she had been hopeful. After all, why else would he end such a courtship if he did not have his eye for marriage set somewhere else?
“The Duke has even been asked as to his relationship with you,” Lady Florentia continued almost as if she had found the chink in Matilda’s armour and wished to burst her way through it. “And do you know what he has said?”
Matilda held her breath. She was not sure whether she wished to know the answer or not but the look on Lady Florentia’s face told her that whatever she was about to say would be a lie. Venom seemed to drip from every pore on the woman’s face turning her into a grotesque woman indeed.
The wrinkles that had formed on her forehead and around her eyes indicated just how wound up she truly was, and Matilda could not help but feel even the slightly bit of satisfaction that she had been the one to cause such a reaction in such a vile woman.
She never needed to ask the question because it appeared Lady Florentia was all too happy to tell her anyway. “He said that he has no interest in a lowly governess such as yourself though you are pretty to look at.”
The look of pure hatred and satisfaction on the woman’s face made Matilda’s stomach churn and bile rise in the back of her throat. Trembling and feeling her knees growing weaker, Matilda was sure she could take little more of the hatred that the lady was spouting.
“Lady Florentia,” she said in a cool and collected tone, “I believe I have heard enough. I think that you ought to leave.”
“What is the matter, Miss Percival?” Lady Florentia snapped back at her. The woman took a step forwards and Matilda’s hackles instantly started to rise. Had she been a cat, she might have hissed at the woman to warn her to back off. “Are you afraid of the truth? Perhaps you should ask the Duke of his true intentions toward you. Maybe then you will see that I am not wrong!”
Feeling tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, Matilda had to hold her breath in order to stop herself from allowing them to fall. She clasped her hands in front of her and straightened up, meeting the lady’s gaze as if she were unfazed by their conversation. Only able to hope that the woman could not see the true feelings that were roiling like a storm beneath the surface, she said calmly, “Please leave, Lady Florentia, you are no longer welcome here.”
“Who do you think you are?” Lady Florentia demanded. Again she stepped forward. “Do you believe yourself to be the lady of the house? Whether you sit at his dining table and sleep in his bed matters not! You shall never be a lady!”
Matilda was absolutely certain that if she remained in that room for one more minute, the lady was going to strike her and so she quickly took several steps away, making the distance between them grow once more before she lifted her head and called, “Mr Burns!”
The man must have been waiting just outside because the moment that she called he appeared in the doorway behind Lady Florentia. Feelings slightly embarrassed, unable to stop herself from wondering how much he had heard, Matilda said through gritted teeth, “Mr Burns, please will you escort Lady Florentia out for me? I must return to Lady Amy’s lessons.”
For a few seconds, she believed that Lady Florentia was going to protest, maybe even that she was going to cause a terrible scene that would leave Matilda scarred for life, but then she seemed to grow calm and a mask washed over her face, entirely covering all the anger and hatred that had been there moments before.
Turning with a sweet smile, Lady Florentia gave a nod to the butler and said, “Fear not, Mr Burns, I can show myself out.”
Then she turned back to Matilda and insisted, “Do not say that I did not warn you.”
Her words caused Matilda’s skin to crawl even worse than it had been before and she barely managed to stop herself from snapping a sharp retort. The lady swept from the room before Matilda could even open her mouth to say anything and then she was gone, leaving the governess feeling deflated.
